Evening Ticker: Kean under fire, referee admits fixing United friendly and more

Things are looking worse and worse for Steve Kean as Blackburn manager as his club slumped to a 2-1 loss to Bolton on Tuesday, intensifying calls for him to be fired.

Blackburn is now rooted to the bottom of the English Premier League and is four points away from safety having played a game more than its competitors. Despite the win, things aren't looking much better for a Bolton side still in the relegation zone. Mark Davies and Nigel Reo-Coker scored in the first half for the Wanderers, while Yakubu provided the only goal for the Rovers.

Fans were heard booing throughout most of the second half and many unfurled "Kean out" banners.

Wolves equalized twice against Norwich City to earn a vital point in Tuesday's other Premier League game.

Here's some more news to wrap up your Tuesday evening:

REF ADMITS TO FIXING MANCHESTER UNITED FRIENDLY

A Chinese referee has admitted to fixing a 2007 friendly featuring Manchester United and Shenzhen FC, a game that United won 6-0. Authorities have not implicated either club in knowing about the fix or any suspicious activity. Huang Junjie admitted to fixing six games in total, most of them being domestic matches in the Chinese league.

Juinje, who was considered one of the top referees in the country, received more that $250,000 in bribes over a five-year period.

PORTLAND ANNOUNCES PRESEASON TOURNAMENT

The Portland Timbers are set to host a four-team preseason tournament in the build-up to the 2012 MLS season. Starting on Feb. 27, Portland will host Swedish side AIK along with fellow MLS clubs San Jose and Chivas USA in a tournament consisting of three double-header sessions.

AIK plays in Sweden's top flight and will be warming up the start to its season as well.

MILAN RETAKE LEAD IN SERIE A

AC Milan is back on top of Serie A following a comfortable 2-0 victory over Cagliari, leapfrogging Juventus.

Francesco Pisano put the ball into his own net and Zlatan Ibrahimovic added an insurance goal with his 11th strike of the season. Juventus are now a point behind the defending champions but have a game in hand and are still unbeaten. Juve will have an opportunity retake the lead on Wednesday with a win at Udinese.

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Should Kean be given the boot? Concerned about the match-fixing scandal in China? Will you be going to Portland's preseason tournament? Think Milan will win the Serie A title?

Or you could go to the MLS Desert Diamond Cup in Tucson, AZ and have the chance to see three MLS teams that actually made the playoffs last season (Galaxy, Dynamo, & Salt Lake. The Revs being the 4th team.)

Ives needs to compile a list of all the mini tourneys being held in preseason for MLS squads. The AZ one was just mentioned. FCD is heading to Florida for the Disney thing they were in last year. I think there’s something taking place in New Orleans as well.